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titleSummary

The Assessment Engine allows LearningBuilder to administer on-line, low-stakes assessments that are typically used for Practice Exams and other supporting evaluations.


Goals

  • Promote learning by delivering formative assessments
  • Increase engagement by adding interaction to learning activities
  • Benchmark performance before and after learning activities

Background and strategic fit

LearningBuilder is an assessment platform. One of the modes of assessment is to administer on-line, low-stakes assessments. These assessments are typically used for Practice Exams and to validate learning for situations in which organizations curate learning activities but wish to promote and/or measure engagement with learning materials. Adoption has been slow, but we have a handful of customers who use the assessment engine (ABO and ABOM). Other customers have inquired about it and it comes up frequently with prospects (e.g., NBCRNA). - May 2018. 

User Stories

#TitleUser StoryImplemented?Notes
1Create an AssessmentAs an Administrator, I create an Assessment so that I can evaluate a person's knowledge.(tick) Yes
2Create a SectionAs an Administrator, I create a Section of questions that groups a set of questions around common content.(tick) Yes
3Create a QuestionAs an Administrator, I create a Question so that I can measure a specific component of knowledge.(tick) Yes
4Re-Order QuestionsAs an Administrator, I order questions so that there is a sequential experience of questions.(tick) Yes
5Create a ResponseAs an Administrator, I create a Response so that a person can answer a question.(tick) Yes
6Specify a Cut scoreAs an Administrator, I create a cut score to establish the score necessary for a passing result.(tick) Yes
7Specify a Competency ModelAs an Administrator, I assign a Competency Model to the Assessment to govern the scope of Competencies available to assign to Questions.(tick) Yes
8Define ResultAs an Administrator, I manage a Results page so that the results can be tailored to the kind of assessment being taken. (tick) Yes
9Publish an AssessmentAs an Administrator, I publish an Assessment so that it is available to be completed.(tick) Yes
10Un-publish an AssessmentAs an Administrator, I un-publish an Assessment so that it is not available to be completed while changes are made.(tick) Yes
11Automated ScoringAs an Administrator, by indicating the "correct" answer for each question (or by assigning each answer a value and specifying a Cut Score for the Assessment as a whole), I can create an Assessment that is immediately and automatically scored so that the user receives immediate realtime feedback about their performance.(tick) Yes
12Manual ScoringAs an Administrator, I indicate that certain questions (such as essays or other complex interaction types) require human evaluation before a score can be assigned. (minus) Not yetDesigned, but not implemented
13Manage FormsAs an Administrator, I create multiple Forms within a single Assessment so that I can administer the Assessment multiple times without duplicating the Assessment Experience.(minus) Not yetDesigned, but not implemented
14Specify that the Assessment has a Time LimitAs an Administrator, I specify the amount of time in minutes a person is allowed to complete the Assessment so that the Assessment is not open indefinitely.(warning) PartiallyCurrent supports per-question time limit only
15Track assessment-level timing metricsSystem records the amount of time it takes to answer each Question.(tick) YesTracked, but not displayed in the UI anywhere
16Specify that the Assessment will use Confidence RatingsAs an Administrator, I specify that questions will include a Confidence Rating to understand how confident the Test Taker is in the select answer during an Assessment(minus) NoCan be modeled using custom Questions, but no way to present those questions only a percentage of the time
17Specify the Confidence Rating ScaleAs an Administrator, I specify the Rating Scale used for the Assessment so that my ratings can use language and specificity I am comfortable with.(warning) PartiallyScales are managed per-question. There is no facility for centrally defining a scale and then reusing it.
18Specify that the Assessment will use Relevance RatingsAs an Administrator, I specify that questions will include a Relevance Rating to understand how relevant the Test Taker believes the content is to his or her practice.(minus) NoCan be modeled using custom Questions, but no way to present those questions only a percentage of the time
19Specify the Relevance Rating ScaleAs an Administrator, I specify the Rating Scale used for the Assessment so that my ratings can use language and specificity I am comfortable with.(warning) PartiallySame as Confidence rating
20Answer Confidence RatingAs a Test Taker, when I answer a Question and Confidence Ratings are turned on, I will answer my Confidence Rating so that I can share my level of confidence in my answer with the Board(minus) No
21Answer Relevance RatingAs a Test Taker, when I answer a Question and Relevance Ratings are turned on, I will answer my Relevance Rating so that I can share my belief in the relevance of the Question to my practice.(minus) NoSame as Confidence.
22View Time to CompleteAs a Test Taker or an Administrator, I can see how long it took to complete a sitting of an Assessment(warning) PartiallyTiming data are tracked, but not displayed. (Can be exposed using custom reports)
23View Time on each QuestionAs an Administrator, I can see how long each test taker took to complete each Question.(warning) PartiallyTiming data are tracked, but not displayed. (Can be exposed using custom reports)
24Record Item Response StringsAs the System, I record the responses to each Question in the QTI standard for the Item type so that the results can be shared with any system using the QTI standard(minus) Not yetA QTI export could be constructed using custom reports or the Integration Hub, but no native QTI representation exists.
25Record Post-Test SurveysAs a Test Taker, I can complete a Post-Test Survey so that I can provide feedback to the Board regarding the Assessment Experience.(minus) NoThis can be done using using Workflow Questions instead of a 1st class feature.


Capability Summary

  • Support multi-section Assessments with multiple navigation modes ranging from "free range" navigation to tightly controlled, one-question-at-a-time, forward-only progression.

  • "Reflective Feedback" allows answer-level feedback to be presented to the user, which can be used as an educational aid.

  • Question Item weighting allows different questions, and different answers within each question, to deliver variable points towards the overall score.

  • User can save progress and return later, picking up where they left off.

  • Supports an optional, per-question time limit.

  • Responsive UI.

Limitations

  • Although measures have been taken to protect data integrity and to prevent tampering, Assessments are not designed to manage highly secure tests. 

Sample Use Cases

  • Practice Exams

  • Journal Article Review, as part of ongoing Continuing Education

  • Surveys